TMC looks at north minus cadres, advantage capitalist

If any major political party has to set up its base in an alien state with no cadre presence, here is an example—elevate an industrialist working for the party, who could provide a plush office at least, as the in-charge of the country’s northern states.

If any major political party has to set up its base in an alien state with no cadre presence, here is an example—elevate an industrialist working for the party, who could provide a plush office at least, as the in-charge of the country’s northern states.

Railways minister Mukul Roy of the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC) arrived in Chandigarh on Thursday and inaugurated the plush party office, announcing renowned industrialist and Rajya Sabha member KD Singh, as the party in-charge for the northern states.

The 50-year-old businessman had entered politics with the support of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MLAs as a Rajya Sabha member from Jharkhand in July 2010. A few months later, Singh switched sides to TMC.

The party that boasts of its name ‘Trinamool’ (grass root in Sanskrit and Bengali) is yet to announce its organisational structures in the said northern states.

Singh, who heads the Rs 10,000 crore Alchemist Group in industrial and real estate sectors, on the occasion announced the name of erstwhile youth Congress leader Dileep Chawla Bittu from Ambala as the TMC convenor from Haryana and Dr Pramod Sharma as the convenor from Himachal Pradesh.

No name was announced for the Punjab unit and the Chandigarh unit.

The union minister on the occasion of the party’s launch in Chandigarh, praised KD Singh for his work in the Manipur assembly elections where it got a mandate as the largest opposition party.

“I joined the party today,” Bittu told HT, after his name was announced as the party convenor from Haryana.

He said he felt sidelined in the Haryana Congress.

“I read in newspaper that KD Singh ji is setting up base of the TMC in Chandigarh and contacted him to join the party as I knew him before hand,” Bittu said.

This is also how things work, in the backdrop of the union minister portraying the party’s icon Mamta Banerjee as “the woman who is always in hawai chappal”.